


our lies burn

by Morning66



Category: Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morning66/pseuds/Morning66
Summary: Topanga tells Katy that she's never seen Shawn's eyes light up like this before and she means it. Or, at least, she means to mean it. She wants to mean it, but somehow it leaves a bitter, chalky aftertaste in her mouth, artificial sugar in black coffee.
Relationships: Katy Hart/Shawn Hunter, Shawn Hunter/Cory Matthews, Topanga Lawrence-Matthews/Cory Matthews
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	our lies burn

**Author's Note:**

> :))

Topanga tells Katy that she's never seen Shawn's eyes light up like this before and she means it.

Or, at least, she means to mean it. She wants to mean it, but somehow it leaves a bitter, chalky aftertaste in her mouth, artificial sugar in black coffee.

Katy doesn't notice. Her eyes light up, her voice goes high in the tentative excitement of someone who's been let down too many times, but is just starting to hope. She doesn't hear the falsity hidden in her words, the blurred meanings, the clauses and conditions. 

Of course she doesn't. She's falling in love with Shawn Hunter, which is understandable, really. Even on the dark side of thirty he's retained much of the handsomeness of youth, retained a certain wildness that can be alluring. There's a certain roughness to him that has morphed from wrong side of the tracks to mysterious, but the softness, the golden heart he's proved time and time again, bleeds through now more than ever

She believes Topanga. She believes her and guilt burns in Topanga's chest. For once she feels all the lawyer stereotypes pressing in on her chest: liar, deceiver, con (wo)man.

_I've known Shawn almost his whole life, and I have never seen his eyes light up like that._

It reads like a question on one of those tests from school. True or False? If false, correct the sentence to make it true.

False, Topanga would circle if it were a test. She's always been good at tests and this would be no different. False, and then what would she say?

False. _I have never seen his eyes light up like that, except when he's around my husband._

Now, that rings true. True, raw and horrible and brutal in its own way, but at least it's true.

There's a small part of Topanga that thinks things will be different this time. They're not kids anymore, not in school. It's been thirteen years and they're not the same people they were then. They _can't_ be.

There's a larger part of her that knows it won't be different. Some things don't change. Some things never change. She was there when Shawn came for Christmas. She saw them together then, saw the resurrection of the Cory and Shawn show, the reunion episode that lead into a reboot. 

Sometimes she wants to warn Katy, but she doesn't know how, or if she'd even believe her. It's hard to explain, even if she's spent years dancing around it. It's hard to admit, to seriously admit, that your husband has always been a little too close to his best friend, that his best friend is not you. It's hard to admit that while you might come first in his actions, you will never come first in his heart.

Nobody warned her, warned the fifteen year old girl with stars in her eyes and a hopelessly naive sense of romance, all Romeo and Juliet and teen romcoms. She found out the hard way, found out piece, by piece, shoving all of them together to get the whole puzzle.

Someday, Katy will understand. Someday, she'll come with questions in her eyes and they'll have a long talk in the empty bakery, tea clutched tight in their hands. It won't be an easy talk, but they'll clasp hands and Topanga will be reminded of her and Angela, so many years ago. 

She'll still curse herself for not saying anything, but, maybe she won't feel so alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I generally don't like girl meets world, but here ya go! 
> 
> Can you tell that I hate that line???? It's like man Topanga did you ever look at Shawn??? I mean, c'mon, like I'm not even really a Shawn Angela shipper and I think you're diminishing their relationship to NOTHING.
> 
> Anyway, rant over, have a nice day.


End file.
